The Greenland whale or Bowhead is one of the larger whale species. In Alaska the whaling thereof is restricted to a limited number, approximately twenty to thirty specimens per year by the local Inuit Eskimo population. The weapons which are used during the whaling are very primitive and have been subjected to only small changes during the last hundred years. The whaling takes place at the iceborder and then from boats made of skin and having a crew of six to ten men. The Bowhead is harpooned by means of a bomb lance or darting gun comprising a firing weapon attached to a rod and having a small harpoon affixed thereto. In the darting gun there is provided a projectile which is fired by means of a trigger rod when the darting gun with its harpoon hits the Bowhead, and the killing of the whale is effected by the main charge of the projectile which is detonated after having penetrated into the whale. To ensure that the whale is really killed, further projectiles may be fired from one or more separate guns. The projectiles of these old-fashioned darting guns suffer from the disadvantage that they do not carry a sufficient charge for a proper killing of such a large animal as a Bowhead, which can gain a weight of approximately 40 tons. This old-fashioned killing has therefore been subjected to critical voices, especially from wild-life protection societies.
Another disadvantage from which these darting guns suffer, is the lack of safety during transport, preparation and handling, and several accidents causing damages to the whalers have been encounted due to unintentional firing of the projectiles.